welcome to nhk world "newsline." a magnitude 7.6 earthquake haus occurred in the pacific off the east coast of philippines. pa pink warning center initially estimated the magnitude at 7.9, but later downgraded it to 7.6. the center has issued a tsunami warning for the following regions -- indonesia, the philippines, a palau. a tsunami watch is in effect for

japan. people staying in coastal areas in the region are advised to move to high ground as soon as possible. the focus of the earthquake is estimated as a depth of 33 kilometers in the pacific ocean. once again a magnitude 7.6 has occurred in the pacific office at 1245 utc on friday. the pacific warning center initially estimated the magnitude at 7.9, but later downgraded it to 7.6. the center has issued a tsunami warning for the following regions, indonesia, the philippines and palau. a tsunami watch is also in effect for japan. people staying in coastal areas in the region are advised to move to higher ground as soon as possible. tsunami waves are more powerful, sometimes the first wave is not

necessarily the largest. in some cases the sea suddenly draws back. it struck east of the island of sumar in the philippine. the focus of the earthquake is estimated as a depth of 334 kilometer. the. station abs/cbn delivered the latest on the earthquake and its tsunami. >> we have some breaking news. a magnitude stuck off samar, epicenter about 112 kilometers. aftershocks are expected. a tsunami has always been issued for countries around the pacific ocean, including the philippines. we'll give you more details as soon as they bum available. and we will also keep you posted on this japanese and north korean diplomats may have inched closer to resolving a longstanding

dispute. they met in beijing over the last several days. japanese officials say they hope more senior diplomats will discuss the abductions of japanese nationals in future talks. the government officials were the first from the countries to meet in four years. they agreed to organize higher level talks in beijing as soon as possible. japanese officials want the abductions of their nationals by north korean agents in the 1970s and '80s on the agenda. they want to discuss repatriating the remains of japanese who have died in what is now north korea around the end of world war ii. and they hope security issues including nuclear and missile development will be up for discussion. back in japan, relatives of the abductees have followed it closely. >> translator: i don't notice to

what extent the new leadership will accept japan's request to address the issue. i feel a mix of hope and concern. i want the japanese government to state clearly that japan will not establish diplomatic relations with north korea until the abductions issue is fully resolved. i expect the officials to negotiate the return of all abductees still held in north korea north korea. we have seen what appears to be a slight thaw in relations between japan and north korea. earlier i talked with hirok hiroki ujima. hirokii. first they extend their talks but one day. what is your take on the past few days? >> i think the talks with fruitful for both companies.

an official said they want to discuss a wide range of issues. there has been no focus or even the chance to -- for the most part they seem to be looking for a way to eventually receive economic assistant from japan. so a positive outcome of this week's talks with japan was in north korea's favor as well. a north korean official first mentioned the issue as the remains in march. negotiations between north korea and the united states and south korea have been tense recently. that's one reason why north korea is eyeing improvement over tying with japan, i think. >> what can you done to ensure that high-level talks move smoothly. >> resolving the issue -- there

remain a wide gap between two countries. the biggest outstanding problem, but the late kim jong-il insisted the issue had already been resolved. it's unknown whether his successor will aim for an overall resolution of the issue. whey anyone interesting are the moving that took place just as bilateral talks were to begin. first north korea allowed a group of families and journalists into the country and then proposed a joint investigation into look into the grave sites. the remains of the japanese is an important task that has to be resolved. once the investigation begins, a certainly amount of money will flow, it will help the economy and boost employment.

i think north korea will put more private on the remains issue than the abductee issues. meanwhile, a group of japanese civilians who evacuated the korean peninsula in world war ii is back in north korea for the first time in 70 years. their main object is to inspect the burial sites of fellow nationals who died there. the four-member delegation entered north korea on tuesday. they visited north hongyong province between thursday and friday. officials guide them to the district where many japanese who died during their repatriation are believed to be buried. the officials explained that many succumbed to an epidemic. the japanese group offered sticks of incense to mourn the dead at one of the sites. >> translator: we have been waiting 50 years for this opportunity. we got a lot of help from local

residents during our visit. we're deeply grateful for their kindness. >> masaki says he hopes authorities will allow more japanese people to travel to north korea to mourn their relatives. authorities are questioning men and a woman involve the snatching of a flag from a vehicle. the suspects are all chinese citizens to force the am bans bore to an official stop. investigators are questioning the suspects, but they haven't placed them under arrest. a growing portion of the public is expressing support and asking government not to arrest them. some observers says authorities could choose to impose an administrative penalty. in that case, they could face a fine of approximately $160 or

detention for up to 15 days. once again, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake has occurred off the east coast of the philippines. the pacific tsunami warning center initially estimated the magnitude at 7.9, but later downgraded it to 7.6. a warning has been issued for indonesia, fill phoenix and palau. a watch is also in effect for japan. people staying in coastal areas in the region are advised to of mo to higher ground as soon as possible. the earthquake struck 150 kilometers east of the island of samar in the philippines. the focus of the earthquake is estimated as a depth of 33 kilometers in the pa sick ocean.

apple and samsung's patent work continues all over the world. in japan a tokyo court has rejected the u.s. high tech giant's argument that its south korean rival violated its patents. apple filed a lawsuit against samsung electronics japan arguing that samsung infringed on its patents this what is called synchronization technology. this allows the transfer of data from other computers to smartphones other other tablet computers. the judge dismissed apple's claim on friday. he said that the two firms use different mechanisms to compare files in the process of synchronization. apple and samsung are suing each other over their patents in ten nations. this is first ruling by a japanese court on the patent dispute. the tokyo court is now weighing cases involving other patents

with the two companies. apple in japan did not give a formal statement on the ruling. however, a company spokesperson said that the ruling covered just one of the contested patents and does not mean the u.s. firm lost the entire case in japan. it also cited apple's victory over its rival in the united states. meanwhile, samsung released a statement saying it considers friday's ruling very reasonable. earlier, nhk world's ron madison spoke with chief consultant at infocom research. >> what are the big picture implications really of this verdict today? >> one thing for certain, this was one win for samsung. the stock market reacted 1.5% plus. it seems like they did win this case, but however, it's not the end of it. as you mentioned, there's a lot of court cases still rising and they've been called copycat in the united states. that kind of triggers -- you

know they won this time but they have to make their brand appear, as of now they're called copycat, they have to bring it back again. >> help us make sense of these different rulings. six so far. two in favor of apple, three in favor of samsung, then the south korean ruling basically calling it a tie between the two. seems like there's a lot of subjectivity to interpreting these laws where i thought there would be more objectivity. >> one biggest difference, the reason why that happens is the difference between the judicial system in the united states and the uk, there was a jury participating in the court. however, in japan, in this type of case, there's no jury attending. you know? in the united states there's the concept of trade address, in japan we don't. that makes the situation differently in countries that it's been held with the court.

>> i see. so where we stand with things now, we've got a lot of crossover technologies, seeing a lot of similar products. what do these companies need to do to step up their game and grab market share? >> they have to come up with a revolutionary idea, just as iphone did. you can walk outside anywhere in the country, i guess, for example, tokyo, you look at the people wearing smartphones. from far sight, i can't really tell which one is which brand anymore. i went to mobile world congress in barcelona in february and there was new product. there's dual core, also single core still but more faster, there's quad core even. you could add cpus, technology to it. people would do that, other company would do that. the difference they must make is really revolutionize design. what stands out is one thing. that thing is the most important part.

and i believe they have to come up with something that's revolutionary. >> and that's speaking in terms of smartphones or come up with something -- >> i was talking about only a smartphone, but recently there's a smart tv that could actually interact with each other. now, it doesn't have to be smartphone. conventional hardware, it could be a.r., you can touch on whatever, you know? it could be nothing, you know? i'm not sure what's the best idea to stand out in the crowd, but i believe something that has to be revolutionary to be on the top of this market. >> right. well none of us were expecting iphone in 2007, so we don't know what's going to be coming up. thanks for your thoughts on this today. speaking with the chief consultant at info com research. unemployment in the euro zone remains at record levels. the european union statistics agency eurostat says the seasonally adjusted jobless rate in the 17-member currency block

toad at 11.3% in july. that's the same as in the previous month. spain's unemployment was the highest in the region, hitting a record 25.1%. more than 1 out of 2 young people couldn't find work during the month. the rate for people under age 25 came in at nearly 53%. the latest data for greece are available only for may. 23.1% of greek people were without work in that month. a leader in japan's securities industry nomura holdings is planning to slash about $1 billion in costs to rebuild its finances. one of its group members, nomura securities has been hit by insider trading scandals. they have shaken investor confidence in the firm and raised concerns about the future of its business. on friday nomura held a meeting of executives at home and abroad and sources say the ceo presented a restructuring plan. it involved cutbacks in personnel and other costs in the company's corporate trading section by the end of fiscal 2013.

nomura plans to downsize its overseas presence including the european unit. it has expanded by buying some operations of lehman brothers during the global financial crisis 4 years ago. through these efforts nomura is hoping to boost its interest from some $586 million in fiscal 2011. from some $586 million in fiscal 2011. nomura is set to announce the plan next week. we have been reporting this, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurred in the pacific ocean off the east coast of the philippines at 1245 utc on friday. the pacific tsunami warning center initially estimated the magnitude of the earthquake at 7.9, but later downgraded it to 7.6. the center has issued a tsunami warning for indonesia, the philippines and palau, the government of the philippines is

urging people on the coast of the islands of system amar, and mindanao to -- americans have heard the name mitt romney for years. they've read about him in the papers and seen him on tv. romney has gone before the cameras against to reintroduce himself to voters. he capped off the republican national convention by accepting the party's presidential nomination. nhk world reports from tampa, florida. >> reporter: mitt romney steed to the stage under the glare of lights and the flash of cameras. >> i accept your nomination for president of the united states. >> reporter: the convention provided republicans with an

opportunity for makeover. voters have seen the candidate. many wonder about mitt romney the man. >> to make that choice, you need to know more about me and where i lead our country. >> reporter: national polls suggest romney is lagging behind the president in likability. pollsters and pundits suggest that he's not approachable, even stiff. convention organizers called in a longtime ally. >> this man will not let us down. this man will lift up america. >> reporter: for days, republicans did their best to redefine romney. he closed the convention defining himself. he spent almost half his speech talking about himself, his upbringing, his family, his faith. he promised he can rebuild the economy and create 12 million

new jobs. >> i wish president obama had succeeded, because i want america to succeed. i'm running for president to help create a better future, a future where everyone who wants a job can find a job, where no senior fears for the security of their retirement. >> reporter: romney hopes to use the momentum he gained in the several days. he'll focus his attacks on president obama's record on the economy. he says americans have the choice to put the disappointments of the last four years behind them. reporting for nhk world, tampa, florida. fukushima residents have been compressing concerns over possible genetic effects from radioactive substances.

the environmental ministry will conduct tests, and will work with fukushima medical university and research institutions. their first priority will be to test children. >> translator: the health of fukushima residents needs to be monitored for more than 50 years, understanding the influence of radiation on the genetic level will help prepare us for the future. the former chairman of the u.s. nuclear regulatory commission says the disclosure of information by regulators it essential. jatsko visited with evacuees still living in temporary. >> it can only be allowed to operate if we can guarantee we.

>> the japanese public lost confidence in the agency after the accident last year at fukushima daiichi. government officials will abolish the agencies in the autumn and create a new body and transfer oversight to the environment ministry. jatsko said leaders of the new regulator will have to be more transparent. he sell if they do, they'll gain the public's trust. jatsko says he understand why japanese have protested. he says that dialogue is important as the government and the people will have to decide where japan will get its energy. skashted thunderstorms in central parts of japan. we have the latest. >> yes, gene, in tack yamma just toward the west of tokyo, close to 50 millimeters in an hour.

now, farther toward the south we are watching thunderstorms blow up, and this could be rather hazardous, with the earthquake flaring up, that could bringlan these rain showers blowing up throughout the overnight hours, you'll definitely want to watch that very closely here. farther toward the north we are watching some heavy rain showers in and around central china. this is going to occur some 100 to 150 millimeters of rain very well could be occurring here as this low continues to push off toward the east. behind it some cooler temperatures. a high of 12 out here on saturday, beijing at 29, and shanghai with 32 here on your saturday. over toward the americas, the remnants of isaac continue to drift to the north, bringing rain showers with it. definitely going to be seeing of a dent here for that severe

drought that has been taking place this summer. unfortunately it's just going from an exception appear still to an extreme drought. farther toward the south, across much of louisiana, you have been continuing to feel the effects of this, upwards of 510 millimeters of rain actually fell in new orleans. was it mainly the main risk of the floods. some of the levees were breached, levees and around some of these areas in southeastern louisiana were about three meters high. you do the math, it does show you do have that risk of that severe flooding. going through the next 72 hours, rain showers moving off, arkansas, missouri, over towards illinois and indiana will experience some thunderstorm activity as well. as far as temperatures, though, denver with a high of 32, oklahoma city over there at 34 for your high, actually for much of the continental u.s. throughout the labor day weekends temperatures remaining into about the mid 30 except toward the northwest.

now over towards europe, a long and even longated area of low pressure down towards the areas article around poland and even around northern italy, due to a stagnant linger low pressure area continuing to spin out. behind it high pressure has set it, this is unfortunate, because widespread wildfires are occurring across much of this area. it doesn't look like any rain will be on tap for the near future. madrid with a high of 26. lisbon at 33, london at 22. across much of the northern pornz of the uk you may experience some rain showers with cloud cover. as far as the paralympics, it doesn't look like any rain is on tap for of. stockholm, and moscow at 14 on your saturday. here's a look at your extended forecast.

a lead story we've been looking at. a magnitude 7.9 earthquake has occurred in the pacific ocean off the east coast of the philippines at 12:48 utc on friday. the tsunami center initially estimated it at 7.9, but later downgraded it to 7.6. the center has issued a tsunami warning for indonesia, the philippine and palau. the government of the philippines is urging people on the coasts of the islands of samar, lata and mindanao to evil

investigate to higher ground. the focus of the earthquake is estimated at a depth of 33 kilometers. the local station delivered the latest on the earthquake and the tsunami. >> we have some breaking news. a magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit about 100 kilometers east of guyen. aftershocks are suspected. a tsunami warning has also been issued for countries around the pacific on the ground, including the philippines. we'll give you more details as soon as they become available. and we will also be back with more updates in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo. \s 0